Most hospitality operators are pointing AI at the wrong target. They're optimizing menus, building guest chatbots, and chasing surface-level wins - while the real opportunity is sitting on the people side of the business.

In this episode, All Gravy CEO Jonatan unpacks why AI's biggest impact in hospitality isn't guest-facing - it's operational. We talk about using AI as a "personal mentor" for every new hire, killing onboarding anxiety in the first 90 days, turning operators into prolific content creators, and giving multi-location HQs a data brain that actually surfaces what matters.

You'll hear concrete examples (Pizza Pilgrims' "Joshua" bot, customers saving 2+ days of admin work, beta users seeing major time savings), why context-rich AI beats generic ChatGPT for hospitality, and what's coming next on All Gravy's roadmap - including a proactive AI that reaches out when something's off across your locations.

If you run 10+ locations, this one's for you.

Topics: AI in hospitality, hospitality operations, employee onboarding, multi-location restaurants, restaurant technology, Gen Z hospitality, AI assistant, hospitality software, frontline employees, All Gravy

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.

What if profit isn’t a plan but a consequence? We sit down with James from Anglian Country Inns to explore how a rundown coastal pub became a 10-site group by betting on one core belief: look after your team like family and the numbers will take care of themselves. From codifying “DNA” behaviours to empowering general managers within clear frameworks, James shows how culture can scale without sanding off what makes each site special.

We trace ACI’s roots in simple, brilliant food and local suppliers, then dig into the operating model that keeps standards high across very different venues. The system is refreshingly clear: measure team health with retention and eNPS, measure guests with satisfaction and revenue, and keep business controls tight. When one pillar drifts, focus there without sacrificing the others. Along the way, you’ll hear how “Be More Beyoncé” turns reflection into a habit, why the right GM matters more than the right building, and how recognition rituals like “happy checks” make going above and beyond contagious.

James also opens the playbook on leading through hard moments. During COVID, ACI backed its people early, then rebuilt around sustainable hours, four-day weeks, and smarter productivity. The results speak: stronger retention, engaged teams, lower recruitment costs, and growth that outpaces price rises. We close with why they won Best Pub Employer under 500 staff and how better comms tools like All Gravy help scale a culture that actually feels human.

If you care about hospitality, leadership, or building a values-led business that still performs, this conversation is a masterclass. Subscribe, share with a fellow operator, and leave a review telling us which idea you’ll try first.

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.

Tommy “Tech” Giraux pulls back the curtain on how Honest Burgers scaled fast, kept the vibes, survived chaos (rain-soaked 600-burger giveaways, voucher meltdowns), cooked on a billionaire’s yacht, and is now using AI to free managers to do real hospitality.

Tommy Giraux is Head of Systems at Honest Burgers. He joined 12 years ago when there were 3 sites, helped open through the boom to 45 pre-COVID (now 39), and shifted from GM/Ops to building the tech stack that powers speed and consistency. He also helped pilot Smash + Grab after Honest crowdfunded £3m.

He explains:
◼️ Why 600-burger launch days worked (until they didn’t) and what he’d change now
◼️ How an Oxford Circus voucher fiasco became a live lesson in crisis comms
◼️ Why brunch flopped three times—and how focusing on “one thing done well” saved the brand
◼️ What COVID taught them about redeploying “superstars” and running 5-person teams
◼️ How an in-house AI bot (“Pickle”) cuts admin, answers staff questions 24/7, and keeps forecasting steady
◼️ What a billionaire’s yacht service revealed about standards, improvisation, and team chemistry
◼️ How stagecraft from his pop-punk band days still shapes pre-shift and leadership

Timestamps
00:00 Intro — Tommy Tech, 39 sites (50+ now)
00:12 Abu Dhabi billionaire’s yacht: building Honest on a boat
01:28 Culture at scale: slips, fixes, and values in practice
02:50 Joining Honest (2012): training at King’s Cross, opening Site #6
05:19 Launch giveaways: 600 burgers, rain, and queues round the block
07:14 Why the big giveaways stopped
07:40 Scaling 3→45→39: COVID whiplash and moving “superstars”
08:56 Brunch attempts (x3): great beans, bad fit—lessons learned
11:07 Smash burgers + Smash & Grab; £3m crowdfund; Liverpool St pilot
12:23 “Tommy Tech” origin story
12:36 AI at Honest: killing admin, boosting manager insight; the “Pickle” bot
16:00 Forecasting, personalisation, and keeping the human touch
17:42 Managers out of the office: from coaching to laptops
19:59 Into systems during COVID: best-of-breed stack and partnerships
22:17 Tech vs culture: what tools can’t fix
24:01 Hiring, first 90 days, promoting from within
32:04 The legendary opening team
33:44 Pop-punk to hospitality: stagecraft, confidence, and service
35:33 Wrap

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.